1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved system for obtaining information from which the shape of a three dimensional object may be obtained. It further relates to such an imaging system which is connected to carry out fabrication or other operations on an object imaged by the system. Most especially, it relates to such a system connected to provide visual inputs to a welding robot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of imaging systems for welding robots and other industrial robots are known in the prior art. For example, commonly assigned Kremers et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,787, issued Oct. 18, 1983 and Kremers et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,121, issued Oct. 25, 1983, describe such systems and are representative of the state of the prior art.
Other examples of imaging systems for industrial robots or similar systems are disclosed in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,452 to Kee, issued June 28, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,821 to Price et al., issued Apr. 15, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,982 to Knollenberg, issued Mar. 2, 1976; U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,866 to Kasdan et al., issued June 6, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,346 to Neiheisel et al., issued Sept. 16, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,771 to Justice et al., issued Sept. 30, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,537 to Sick, issued Feb. 3, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,745 to Barber et al., issued July 13, 1982; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,553 to Nakagawa, issued Aug. 10, 1982. Of these patents, only the last is directed to determining shape of a three-dimensional object. While that apparatus represents a sophisticated approach to the environment addressed, it is of limited applicability for use with welding robots and similar industrial robots.